Pezeshkian Orders Return of Expelled Students and Review of Dismissed Professors

Masoud Pezeshkian, the President, announced in a speech that he has called for the return of all expelled protesting students from universities and a review of the cases of dismissed professors. He also requested that the cases of all professors who have been dismissed or had their contracts terminated be reviewed. He stated that he has asked the relevant ministers to 'review all professors whose contracts have been annulled or who have been dismissed in any way and to return the students.' Speaking on Thursday, September 8, during the introduction ceremony of the new Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, Pezeshkian criticized the number of universities in the country. Regarding the expelled protesting students, he said: 'We must see if their claims are valid, and if so, we must accept them; or if they are mistaken, they should be guided.' According to him, 'a student cannot be bad; they are the future of the country and must be able to ask questions.' Pezeshkian emphasized that he has instructed ministers to review the cases of all professors whose contracts have been annulled or who have been dismissed. The number of expelled students from universities across the country is unknown, but it is estimated that thousands of young people have been expelled since the early years of the Islamic Republic, which closed universities with the support of the leader of the regime during the 'Cultural Revolution.' After the protests of 2022, pressures on protesting students and supporting professors have intensified. The Islamic Republic's approach to non-conforming professors has typically involved dismissal, suspension, or forced retirement. In recent years, the involvement of security institutions in universities has increased to the extent that, in addition to students, protesting professors are also summoned and interrogated by university security and security agencies. While hundreds of university professors in Iran have left their homeland for over 45 years of the Islamic Republic's rule, and at the same time, hundreds of elite students have been accepted into Western universities, a new wave of crackdowns on professors occurred during the presidency of Ebrahim Raisi. Among them, some professors who supported the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests were dismissed or lost their jobs under the pretext of contract termination. Masoud Pezeshkian, who was previously a heart surgeon and the head of the medical school in Tabriz before entering politics, confirmed in his speech on Thursday that a large number of elite graduates from Iranian universities have left the country. He asked: 'What percentage of elites remain in the country? Why do they not stay? How have we trained them that our elites leave and want to work elsewhere?' According to him, elites and professors 'leave without even looking back.' The Sharif University faculty association called on the Minister of Science to return the dismissed professors to the university. He identified one reason for the wave of professors leaving universities as the appointment of a young president of a university who feels entitled to speak disrespectfully to experienced professors, while 'everyone should be respected regardless of their inclination.' Pezeshkian stated that there is no problem in the world that does not have a scientific solution, 'not just one solution but perhaps dozens of solutions,' but the problem we have is that 'either we do not know the scientific solution, or we know it and lack the skill, or we know and have the skill but do not want to do anything about it.' The new President of Iran criticized the multitude of universities in the country, questioning their purpose: 'What is the quality? What problem are they solving?' He mentioned that before becoming president, he always thought that universities should solve societal problems, assigning economic issues to economic professors and technical issues to technical professors, and so on, 'but now that I am president, I do not know how I can implement this thought.' He noted that all these universities in Iran 'only want money,' while in the United States, universities charge for executing projects, serving as places for income generation, creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. In the middle of his speech on Thursday, while talking about respecting professors, he mockingly referred to a management course instructor in Thailand. The secretary of the professors' union reported government restrictions for '200 professors' at universities. He mentioned that a nine-member team of heads of medical universities in Iran, including himself from Tabriz, was sent to Thailand for a management course. He expressed that it was ironic that while they speak of their revolution globally, they had to attend this course in Thailand, and a short woman entered the class and asked who they were. They introduced themselves as the heads of medical universities in Iran, in addition to several hundred other science and free universities they have in Iran. Masoud Pezeshkian received a vote of confidence from the Islamic Consultative Assembly for all 19 of his ministers, including the Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, last week, and on Tuesday, he met with Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, who has supported his government. Hossein Simayi Sarraf is the new Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, succeeding Mohammad Ali Zolfi Gol, the minister of Ebrahim Raisi's government. Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi is also the Minister of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education in this government, who received the lowest vote of confidence among the 19 ministers in the Assembly. It is unclear how the new president's request to return expelled students and professors to academic institutions will be implemented in practice, but he stated that all factors 'for national consensus' and how to employ talented and capable individuals should assist the government. The news of the order to return expelled students comes less than a week after a student union at Sharif University called on the new Minister of Science to return the dismissed professors from this university. The newspaper Etemad published a list of 52 dismissed professors from Iranian universities last September, indicating that the recent wave of dismissals began at the start of Ebrahim Raisi's government in 2021. Masoud Pezeshkian was elected president with 54% of the votes in the unusual elections held on June 12, shortly after Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash. According to government reports on election data, over 60% of eligible voters did not participate in the first round and about 50% in the second round.